Obama should be quiet while Trump cleans up his mess
Kudos to President Donald Trump for terminating President Barack Obama’s Iran nuclear deal. The deal was one of the worst deals ever negotiated. It gave Iran immediate cash payments and relief from sanctions in exchange for Iran’s leaders’ promises to refrain from bad behaviors in the future.
The deal was even worse procedurally. Obama said that “the consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding America’s credibility.” Seriously? After eight years of Obama, the United States had little remaining credibility.
Obama’s Syrian “red line,” the Russian annexation of the Crimea, the Arab Spring, and Benghazi epitomized Obama’s penchant for empty threats and weakness. Trump must rebuild a foreign policy that serves the United States.
The Iran nuclear deal was not a treaty, but rather was Obama using his “phone and pen” to circumvent the Constitution. Had Obama submitted the deal to the Senate for ratification, it would have failed. In fact, 47 Republican senators signed a letter on March 9, 2015, explaining to Iran that the deal was with Obama, and was subject to revocation by his successor. The Iranians knew the risks, but moved forward because they received significant benefits up front.
Perhaps if Obama had been able to persuade 67 senators to support his deal, his current whining would have some merit. But he didn’t and Obama would be well served by refraining from commenting as his successor works to clean up his mess.
Chad King
Bluffton
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This story was originally published May 21, 2018 at 7:12 AM with the headline "Obama should be quiet while Trump cleans up his mess."